The 20 most anticipated movies of 2023
Thanks to mighty resurgent blockbusters, surprising indie hits and a bevvy of superhero failures, 2022 has been yet another memorable year in cinematic history. Whilst the comic-book antics of Marvel and DC studios have long dominated contemporary cinema, 2022 saw their partial deconstruction, with both studios forced into reconsidering their forthcoming schedule due to multiple box-office and critical failures.
Throwing a spanner in the works of contemporary industry understanding, 2022 confused industry professionals by churning out Top Gun: Maverick, a 36-year-late sequel which seized worldwide success, whilst the likes of Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Adam were reduced to relative obscurity. If 2022 in cinema can tell us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected and question the apparent expertise of industry professionals.
Such makes predicting 2023 quite a tricky task, with a large number of superhero flicks expected to hit the silver screen alongside a multitude of exciting independent releases. Though, whilst everyone will soon be aware of such movies as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, thanks to obnoxious marketing campaigns, we’ve decided to focus on some of the most exciting director-led releases to thrill audiences in 2023.
Take a look at our list of the 20 most anticipated movies of 2023 below and mark your calendars for new releases by the likes of Martin Scorsese, Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson and Hayao Miyazaki.
The 20 most anticipated movies of 2023
Asteroid City (Wes Anderson)
Although Wes Anderson only released The French Dispatch in 2021, the director’s eleventh feature film, Asteroid City, is set for release on June 16th 2023. The romantic comedy-drama features a star-studded large ensemble cast featuring plenty of Anderson regulars, including Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzmann and Edward Norton, alongside Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson and Maya Hawke.
The film is set in 1955 at a Junior Stargazer convention, which is disrupted by life-shattering events. Anderson co-wrote the screenplay with Roman Coppola, who also helped pen Moonrise Kingdom, The Darjeeling Limited and more with the director.
Barbie (Greta Gerwig)
Perhaps the most anticipated film of 2023 for many is Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, starring Margot Robbie as the iconic Mattel doll and Ryan Gosling as her bronzed boyfriend, Ken. After finding much success with Ladybird and Little Women, the actor-turned-director has established herself as one of the industry’s most promising filmmakers. Barbie, co-written with husband Noah Bambauch, might just propel Gerwig to even greater heights.
Gerwig’s film features an ensemble cast, including Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Emma Mackey, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, and Ncuti Gatwa. Barbie is scheduled for release on July 21st, 2023, the same day as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Beau is Afraid (Ari Aster)
What on earth is Beau is Afraid? Previously titled Disappointment Blvd., Ari Aster’s latest drama, comedy and horror hybrid looks like a cinematic enigma, and we’ve only seen a poster so far. The simple yet bizarre poster for the new release shows the younger version of Joaquin Phoenix’s title character looking like he’s stepped right out of the ‘Uncanny Valley’, appearing like a drooling, lifesize plasticine figure.
Still, with the director of Hereditary and Midsommar back in business, and a cast that includes Kylie Rogers, Parker Posey, Michael Gandolfini, Amy Ryan, Kylie Rogers, Nathan Lane and more, we can’t wait to see Aster’s new flick.
Dune: Part II (Denis Villeneuve)
Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic Dune was undoubtedly one of the greatest movies of 2021, thrilling audiences and critics alike with a transportive thriller and a baffling ensemble cast. Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson will return for the sequel alongside a host of newcomers that includes Florence Pugh, Austin Butler and Christopher Walken.
The follow-up to the celebrated sci-fi will continue the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Chalamet) as he plots to take revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.
Havoc (Gareth Evans)
The Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans exploded onto the scene in 2011, releasing the bombastic action movie The Raid, starring Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim, to rave critical reviews. Ever since, the director has been mingling with the action genre, creating The Raid 2 in 2014, followed by the Sky TV series Gangs of London, which went big on action whilst failing to impress with a flimsy screenplay.
The release of Havoc in 2023 marks a significant return to the genre for Evans, with his latest movie starring the likes of Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant, Forest Whitaker and Luis Guzmán.
How Do You Live? (Hayao Miyazaki)
Renowned for directing animated classics such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, Hayao Miyazaki will return in 2023 with How Do You Live?, his first film in ten years. Animated by Studio Ghibli, the film is based on a 1937 novel of the same name by Yoshino Genzaburo, which follows a 15-year-old boy and his uncle as the young boy deals with poverty and coming-of-age.
Studio executive Toshio Suzuki revealed that Miyazaki, now 81 years old, is working on the film for his grandson as a way of saying, “Grandpa is moving onto the next world soon, but he is leaving behind this film.” How Do You Live? is set for release on July 14th, 2023.
The Killer (David Fincher)
The previous movie from American filmmaker David Fincher, 2020s Mank, was a critical and awards success, but it also undoubtedly failed to make a splash with audiences. His latest movie, The Killer, is sure to change his fortunes, with the crime film, based on the graphic novel by Alexis Nolent, looking like a return to his commercial best, sounding a little similar to 2014s Gone Girl and Zodiac in 2007.
Telling the story of an assassin who begins to psychologically crack as he develops a conscience, Fincher’s movie, starring Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton, is bound to be a classic.
Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese)
Speaking of returning cinematic masters, American filmmaker Martin Scorsese will also be taking to the silver screen in 2023, four years after the release of The Irishman. Focusing on the treatment of the Osage tribe in northeast Oklahoma, along the Kansas line in Pawhuska, Killers of the Flower Moon by the veteran director tells the tragic story of Mollie Burkart, one of the city’s wealthiest individuals.
The plot follows Mollie’s life after her relatives and fellow members of the Osage tribe are murdered under mysterious circumstances, forcing the involvement of the F.B.I and J. Edgar Hoover. If that wasn’t enough to sound like a Scorsese classic, the film also stars his regular collaborators, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
Love Lies Bleeding (Rose Glass)
Rose Glass released her feature film debut, the psychological horror Saint Maud in 2019, a magnificent exploration of loneliness and religion. In 2023, she’ll follow it with Love Lies Bleeding, developed by Film4 and A24. The romantic thriller features Kristen Stewart as the protective lover of a female bodybuilder. Co-written by Weronika Tofilska, Glass’ film is set to explore the competitive nature of bodybuilding, with a spokesperson for the film describing the romance as “fuelled by ego, desire and the American dream.”
According to Deadline, Dave Franco, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Katy O’Brien, and Anna Baryshnikov will also star in the film. Although Love Lies Bleeding has no official release date yet, it is set for 2023.
MaXXXine (Ti West)
Ti West has built up somewhat of a cult following this year after releasing X and its prequel, Pearl. Whereas X pays homage to classic 1970s slashers, specifically The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and sleazy flicks from the Golden Age of Porn, Pearl sheds light on the title villain’s origins during the 1918 influenza pandemic. For the third and final instalment in the trilogy, MaXXXine, West will take us to the 1980s, where Mia Goth’s character navigates life after the events of X, attempting to break into Hollywood.
Although principal photography hasn’t taken place yet, a teaser trailer debuted after a midnight screening of Pearl in September 2022, suggesting that it won’t be long until MaXXXine hits our screens.
Monster (Hirokazu Koreeda)
A modern-day Yasujirō Ozu, the Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda is recognised as one of the best directors of modern cinema, responsible for making some of the most heartwarming movies of the 21st century. Not much is known about his latest movie, Monster, but any fan of the filmmaker will know that his projects are worth watching no matter the plot, especially as his forthcoming film is his first Japanese-language film since 2018s Shoplifters.
Based on a screenplay by Yuji Sakamoto, the celebrated TV writer known for such projects as Mother, The Best Divorce, and A Woman, Koreeda’s latest is one you’ll want to keep tabs on.
On Barren Weeds (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
The Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan is the best filmmaker that you’ve never heard of, having helmed some of the finest movies of the 21st century, including Uzak, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia and Winter Sleep. In his latest movie, On Barren Weeds, a young teacher hopes to be appointed to Istanbul after mandatory duty at a small village but holds little hope of escaping his gloomy life.
Starring Merve Dizdar, Deniz Celiloglu and Musab Ekici, the latest movie from the Turkish mastermind is sure to gain considerable attention.
Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)
Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin, the script for the new film will be penned by none other than Christopher Nolan himself. Enlisting the help of cast members Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek and Benny Safdie, the film will surely be a cinematic epic.
Representing a significant turning point for the filmmaker, the upcoming movie is the very first time that the director has departed from Warner Bros, teaming up with Universal for Oppenheimer, who is calling the new film an “epic thriller”.
Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)
After working together on The Favourite in 2018, Emma Stone will reunite with Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos in 2023 for Poor Things. Based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, the movie follows a woman who drowns herself to escape her abusive husband. Upon doing so, her brain is replaced with her unborn child’s, with the help of her father, played by Willem Dafoe. The film also stars Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Margaret Qualley, and Jerrod Carmichael.
Set in Victorian-era England, Poor Things is inspired by the classic tale of Frankenstein, and with Lanthimos helming the project, it’s bound to be unsettling. The script has been written by Tony McNamara, who also helped to pen The Favourite and another Stone project, Cruella. No specific release date has been announced for Poor Things yet.
Priscilla (Sofia Coppola)
Following the success of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic earlier this year, Sofia Coppola will turn her focus to Elvis Presley’s former wife, Priscilla, using her memoir Elvis and Me as source material. Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi will star as Priscilla and Elvis in the production, which, if Coppola’s previous movies, such as Marie Antoinette, are anything to go by, is bound to be a visual feast.
Discussing the project, Coppola told Vogue, “I was just so interested in Priscilla’s story and her perspective on what it all felt like to grow up as a teenager in Graceland. She was going through all the stages of young womanhood in such an amplified world—kinda similar to Marie Antoinette.” No release date has been announced, but Priscilla will likely drop at the end of 2023.
Saltburn (Emerald Fennell)
British actor and director Emerald Fennell will follow her debut feature Promising Young Woman with Saltburn next year. With the release of her first film, Fennell, who played Camilla on The Crown, earned an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In May 2022, it was announced that her upcoming film would star Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Barry Keoghan, Richard E. Grant, and Carey Mulligan.
Although little has been revealed about the plot of Saltburn thus far, Deadline reported that the story would centre around obsession in an aristocratic English family. The thriller began shooting in July 2022 and is set to hit theatres in the summer.
Shanghai Qingnian (Wang Bing)
The iconic Chinese documentarian Wang Bing is back with Shanghai Qingnian, several years after the release of Three Sisters in 2012 and Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks in 2002. His latest movie, Shanghai Qingnian, tells the story of a worker district close to Shanghai named Liming, the richest city in China. The film will document the many young people who move from their villages to seize opportunities in the city.
Exposed to harsh living conditions that impact both their physical and mental health, Wang Bing’s film hopes to pick apart a curious practice and break down the individuals caught up in the system.
True Love (Gareth Edwards)
Back in 2010, Gareth Edwards was catapulted into industry success following the release of his curious independent sci-fi Monsters. Arguably he hasn’t been able to reach similar heights of success since, but his forthcoming film True Love hopes to break this spell. With plot details being kept firmly under wraps, there’s not much to go off for Edwards’ latest movie, apart from the director’s promising track record.
If that wasn’t enough to get you excited, the ensemble cast also points to something special, with Edwards enlisting the help of Amar Chadha-Patel, John David Washington, Ralph Ineson, Allison Janney and Gemma Chan, among others.
The Way of the Wind – Terrence Malick
Terrence Malik rose to prominence in 1973 with his debut feature Badlands, starring Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen, and has continued to find great success with works such as Days of Heaven and The Tree of Life. It’s been two years since his last film, A Hidden Life, and Malik will follow this up with another epic drama, The Way of the Wind. The director will tell the story of Jesus, played by Géza Röhrig.
Mark Rylance will star as Satan, and Matthias Schoenaerts, Ben Kingsley, Douglas Booth, Aidan Turner, and Joseph Fiennes are also part of the cast. It’s uncertain when exactly Malik’s film will appear in 2023, as production has been shrouded in secrecy.
The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer
The visionary behind the erotic science-fiction film Under the Skin, Jonathan Glazer, is set to release The Zone of Interest, based on Martin Amis’ novel, next year. The Holocaust film features German actors Sandra Hüller and Christian Friedel with cinematography by Lukasz Zal, who did a supreme job of shooting Paweł Pawlikowski’s Ida and Cold War. The project has been in the works for several years and will surely be an unforgettable cinematic experience based on Glazer’s previous efforts.
The Zone of Interest follows a Nazi officer obsessed with the camp commandant’s wife. Talking to A Dash of Drash podcast a few months ago in anticipation of his new project, Glazer discussed learning about the Holocaust as a child, “I remember being very taken by the faces of the bystanders, the onlookers, the complicit, you know? Ordinary Germans. I started wondering how it would be possible to stand by and watch that.” No official release date has been given.
